CLSG Project A Major Impetus to Development – Pres. Sirleaf

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Monrovia, Liberia, June 5, 2017: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says she and her counterparts from Cote d’Ivoire, President Alassane Ouattara, Sierra Leone, President Ernest Bai Koroma and Guinea, President Alpha Conde, are pleased with the CLSG interconnection project.

“We are all pleased to be here to break ground for this project. It will bring to all our countries a big relief and for those countries emerging, it will enable them to move at a faster pace in achieving their development goals,” the Liberian leader said in her opening remarks at the historic ground-breaking ceremony on Sunday, June 4, 2017.

“As many of you know, as ECOWAS proceeds for transformation of our economy, power has been identified as one of our main constraints. For Liberia, power is the one thing that has made a difference in the deterioration in the quality of life in all areas, as power supports education, health, industry, security and the comfort of life,” the Liberian leader said.

President Sirleaf who led the historic ground-breaking ceremony for the CLSG project on the sideline of the ECOWAS Heads of State Summit on Sunday, June 4, 2017 furthered, “We have already started in the West African Power Pool to see the support and integration among the energy services in our countries. We have seen our Ministers working together to support the cross-border activities in support of the CLSG project, a milestone we are witnessing today.”

The Liberian leader described the CLSG project as a major impetus for national development. “As we break grounds, all four us as leaders of the CLSG countries, give to TRANSCO CLSG our fullest commitment and support to see that this project moves as quickly as possible in reaching the goals that have been set.” She thanked the donor partners and other key stakeholders for their unwavering support to the CLSG project.

The CLSG project marks a turning point…

For his part, the General Manager Mohammed M. Sherif assured the leaders of the CLSG countries that the implementation of the CLSG project is at a point of no return. According to him, following the construction of the 1,303 kilometers of transmission line and sub stations, and commissioning the project in 2019, “we will be giving our people a new lease of life. The CLSG project will fuel economic growth throughout the region. For many, this will be the first chance at not only stable power, but any access to power at all.”

Mr. Sherif said across the CLSG countries, citizens including local leaders, entrepreneurs and small business owners are patiently waiting the realization of this project, adding, “We are poised to deliver on this mandate and we remain resolute in building on our achievements by accelerating the implementation project with a shared passion and commitment.”

He thanked President Sirleaf and her colleagues for their unwavering commitment to working together in the spirit of cooperation and partnership that has defined the journey thus far. The CLSG interconnection project, he said, is the largest power line project in the MRU, and this significant endeavor has been jointly funded with the resources of the African Development Bank, the World Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German Development Bank (KfW), and the governments of Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

“There is no doubt, as I have highlighted, that increased electricity cooperation and trade between countries can enhance energy security, facilitate financing and bring economies-of-scale in investments. It is something beyond this as well: we are showing to the world that our region is open for business, that our region can undertake significant, logistically difficult, cross-country investment. That multi-million dollar projects can be successfully brought to realization in this region. The CLSG project marks a turning point, for the millions who will get power, for the millions who will see a new hope for the region and so I am pleased to welcome you all to this groundbreaking ceremony.”